This article is based on a speech delivered by AWID’s Executive Director, Lydia Alpízar Durán at a High Level Roundtable during the 54^th session of the UN Commission on the Status of Women (CSW)

In the light of a report commissioned by the United Nations secretariat, we reflect on the global economic crisis and what it means for civil society organisations.

Follow the discussions and debates at Beijing + 15 as they unfold with AWID and partners' daily coverage!

Members of the International Family Planning Coalition (IFPC) in the United States are working hard to find a more permanent solution to the Global Gag Rule. Currently, the policy is instated, repealed, reinstated, and so on from Administration to Administration. I do not have to tell you the harmful effects this policy has had on service delivery and most importantly the lives of women and young people. We want to ensure that this policy can no longer be used as a political football, and to achieve that, we need your help.

On March 10, the chief exorcist of the Vatican, the Rev. Gabriele Amorth (who has held this demanding post for 25 years), was quoted as saying that "the Devil is at work inside the Vatican," and that "when one speaks of 'the smoke of Satan' in the holy rooms, it is all true--including these latest stories of violence and pedophilia." This can perhaps be taken as confirmation that something horrible has indeed been going on in the holy precincts, though most inquiries show it to have a perfectly good material explanation.

8th March 2010 is the 100th anniversary of the declaration of International Women’s Day. Joining with thousands of women's rights activists at the 54th Commission on the Status of Women (CSW)/Beijing + 15 and globally, AWID is marking this important day by profiling the diverse forms of organizing and celebration by women around the world.

In response to the devastating earthquake in Haiti, AWID is launching a special section on our website designed to provide a wide range of information on the context of the crisis, the latest analysis on the aftermath of the earthquake, how the crisis is impacting women and women’s rights, how to ensure women's rights are at the centre of responses to disasters, and how you can act in solidarity with the women, men and children of Haiti.

When he opened the House of Traditional Leaders this week, President Jacob Zuma reiterated his call for a national debate on a moral code and on the values of South Africans. He argued that traditional leaders could play an important role in service delivery and rural development. The president quoted Albert Luthuli's famous model of leadership: "A chief is primarily a servant of his people."

Fatima Sidia

The difficulties women journalists face in reporting an event in Saudi Arabia illustrates the wider difficulties experienced by women in the Kingdom. It starts with the press release. They arrive in abundance announcing outside events, seminars or conferences.

France could become the first country in Europe to ban the burka. A draft law submitted to the French parliament would make it illegal for a woman to cover her face in public spaces such as hospitals and trains. But the proposal has divided the country's five million-strong Muslim community.